NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) Short Interest Up 24.4% in March

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 23,357,131 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the February 26th total of 18,771,604 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,716,882 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 6.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NOV shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NOV from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays upgraded NOV from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 price objective on NOV in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NOV presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.57.

NOV Price Performance

Shares of NOV traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,370,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,169,639. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.45. NOV has a fifty-two week low of $10.84 and a fifty-two week high of $20.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.46 and a beta of 0.89.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from NOV’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. NOV’s payout ratio is presently 94.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total value of $3,047,404.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 269,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,439,727.98. This represents a 35.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total transaction of $1,405,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 256,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,146,885.52. This represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of NOV by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,655 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $32,646,000 after purchasing an additional 60,148 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in NOV by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 47,164 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 18,404 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of NOV in the fourth quarter worth about $3,173,000. Numerai GP LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NOV by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 15,366 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 3,607 shares during the period. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NOV in the fourth quarter worth approximately $865,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NOV

National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) is a leading provider of equipment and technology to the oil and gas industry. The company designs, manufactures and services an extensive portfolio of products used in drilling, completion and production operations. Its offerings include drilling rigs and related components, wellbore technologies such as tubulars and completion tools, surface equipment including mud pumps and blowout preventers, and aftermarket parts and services that support ongoing field operations.

NOV’s business is organized to serve upstream energy companies around the world.